No coach is perfect. I think he is gambling with Mitchell and the NT position as a whole and there is a better than good chance that its going to backfire on him.

This whole "the NT comes out on passing downs" craze is just plain silly. Did Jay Ratliff come out on passing downs? I guarantee you if Wade had a really good NT he wouldn't come out on passing downs. The fact that Wade pulls them here just shows that our NT's (Cody and Mitchell) are nothing more than serviceable.

He'll Mitchell 's best attribute is supposed to be his ability to penetrate. Yet he comes out on passing downs. You guys drink your Mitchell juice all you want. I'm going to wait till be shows me something consistently in games before I stop worrying about the middle of our defense.

They combined to play just two-thirds of the team’s snaps (38.19 percent for Cody, 28.22 for Mitchell), with Antonio Smith kicking inside in the nickel package. Cody and Mitchell are asked to stuff the run and force more than one blocker to get at least a hand on them.

Even so, the Texans are allowed to get more than 50 tackles, two tackles for a loss and two sacks from their two primary nose tackles. Which is why they should draft one if they can.

The fact that Wade pulls them here just shows that our NT's (Cody and Mitchell) are nothing more than serviceable.

He'll Mitchell 's best attribute is supposed to be his ability to penetrate. Yet he comes out on passing downs. You guys drink your Mitchell juice all you want. I'm going to wait till be shows me something consistently in games before I stop worrying about the middle of our defense.

Whoa..... not drinking any Mitchell juice.

Yes, Mitchell comes out on passing downs, because he is not as good a pass rusher as JjWatt & AntonioSmith.

Another thing, with the NFL going to more of a passing game, RBs becoming a dime/dozen commodity, & the way our offense generally took away the opposing teams running game, I think the prototypical NT will continue to be very low on our priority list.

Of course you do and those poor coaches were just silly to give him 10% less snaps than Cody.

Quote:

There are a lot of politics on a football team and sometimes there are more talented players waiting in the weeds that just aren't given the chance. We see it all the time.

You're subscribing to the 'conspiracy theory' of they just didn't like him then, but love him now?

I'll be pulling for whoever is on the field for the Texans, but try and sell the "better player" B.S. somewhere else, I'm not buying...and neither were the guys who matter.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

I wonder how they can blame the pass or the QB.

Don't lead with the head. Don't hit the receiver in the head.

No $10,000 fine.

If only it were that simple with the "defenseless receiver" rules. Ed Reed was fined not $10K, but $55K for THIS hit. He lead with his shoulder. Why is it the DBs fault that the WR helmet comes down AFTER the hit?

__________________D.B. - That sounds like a nugget of reality wrapped in a layer of embellished hyperbole.

No coach is perfect. I think he is gambling with Mitchell and the NT position as a whole and there is a better than good chance that its going to backfire on him.

This whole "the NT comes out on passing downs" craze is just plain silly. Did Jay Ratliff come out on passing downs? I guarantee you if Wade had a really good NT he wouldn't come out on passing downs. The fact that Wade pulls them here just shows that our NT's (Cody and Mitchell) are nothing more than serviceable.

He'll Mitchell 's best attribute is supposed to be his ability to penetrate. Yet he comes out on passing downs. You guys drink your Mitchell juice all you want. I'm going to wait till be shows me something consistently in games before I stop worrying about the middle of our defense.

Just want to let you know that Mitchell has been WAY MORE productive than Ratliff through their first three years in the league.

If only it were that simple with the "defenseless receiver" rules. Ed Reed was fined not $10K, but $55K for THIS hit. He lead with his shoulder. Why is it the DBs fault that the WR helmet comes down AFTER the hit?

Still can't blame it on the pass or the QB. Poor officiating.... but not on the pass.

Just want to let you know that Mitchell has been WAY MORE productive than Ratliff through their first three years in the league.

And a hair better than Jamal Williams with the Chargers.

FWIW, Ratliff came to the Cowboys during a 3-4 D transition (2005) after 45years of a 4-3. On top of that, he had just prior transitioned in his senior year from a 4-3 DE to a 4-3 DT. I would suspect that there was some significant "acclimation" going on during those first couple of years with the Cowboys.

...and remind me where Cody is now? And why is another player wearing his ex-number now? I predict no drop off in NT production and possibly an increase. We'll all see together.

Answers:
1) On the street.
2) Refer back to answer #1

I too believe there will be no drop off in production at NT w/ Mitchell & very easily could be an increase. Cody, IMO, was every bit the Kevin Walter of the defense w/ lackluster production & constantly had his small contributions over exaggerated & glorified.

Im not saying Mitchell will be an All Pro or Pro Bowler, but he is young w/ some potential & obviously has earned an opportunity to be a starter w/ those in charge.

FWIW, Ratliff came to the Cowboys during a 3-4 D transition (2005) after 45years of a 4-3. On top of that, he had just prior transitioned in his senior year from a 4-3 DE to a 4-3 DT. I would suspect that there was some significant "acclimation" going on during those first couple of years with the Cowboys.

Doc, I don't see how the Cowboys' change in D scheme has anything to do with a rookie.

Mitchell was recruited as a TE.
He didn't move to the D until his Jr year.
He did not play much at the nose in the Wildcats 43 defense
Most often, he lined up as a 3-tech Undertackle in college.

Doc, I don't see how the Cowboys' change in D scheme has anything to do with a rookie.

Mitchell was recruited as a TE.
He didn't move to the D until his Jr year.
He did not play much at the nose in the Wildcats 43 defense
Most often, he lined up as a 3-tech Undertackle in college.

Interestingly, Ratliff was also recruited as a TE and made the transition to DE in his sophomore year. But virtually all of his junior year was screwed up by an early high ankle sprain which made him miss 4 1/2 games only to come back to be used sparingly as rotational DE piece. His senior year was his only year to really gain experience at DT.......a 4-3 position in which he shined.

I guess I brought this up in the context that position changes and scheme changes can take time with some players over others, and be kinder to some and rather "cruel" to others.

It is difficult for me to see Mitchell used in the same sentence as Ratliff as an interchangeable part. But, from all looks, it appears that Wade is Hell-bent to make it work.

After Cody suffered his original disc injury, I suggested that without long-term rest and rehab, he could very well be dealing with this problem throughout the season. I feel that if Cody was not hampered throughout the 2012 season with a disc problem, he could have developed into a better fit than Mitchell can be expected to. We will all have to wait and see. But meanwhile, I will keep hoping that something more promising reveals itself between now and the beginning of the season.

Curious, who threw the pass that would of ended in a 10,000 dollar fine? I know Schaub seemed to throw a fair share of those passes last season. Poor OD took a licking on the majority of them.

Not certain, so I didn't say it. Not sure if I knew for sure I'd even want to say because people blow up selective things bigger than just one play which seems a little unfair.

Will say that JJo was plaguing Schaub on Day 3. Busted up plays to both AJ and Hopkins.

OTOH, Schaub to Hopkins 30 yards down field was a thing to behold. Didn't think Hopkins was going to get it but I love how when the ball is in the air, he just has more want to for it. He attacks the ball, doesn't just wait for it.

It's weird to talk of wide receivers being aggressive, but with his hands/body positioning, he collects the ball as soon as it is anywhere near him.

(I know there was a Chron article talking about how Martin and Jean are better this year. And they are. And that they are ahead of Hopkins in the playbook. And they are. But Hopkins is just such a fun receiver to watch in ways that the collection of WRs post-AJ aren't. Both AJ and Hopkins are the kind of receivers who do stuff in practice that make you go whoa a couple of times a practice. There's a reason why Hopkins is playing with the 1s--learn up faster, and because whoa that upside. Love watching him play.)

...Schaub to Hopkins 30 yards down field was a thing to behold. Didn't think Hopkins was going to get it but I love how when the ball is in the air, he just has more want to for it. He attacks the ball, doesn't just wait for it.

It's weird to talk of wide receivers being aggressive, but with his hands/body positioning, he collects the ball as soon as it is anywhere near him.

(I know there was a Chron article talking about how Martin and Jean are better this year. And they are. And that they are ahead of Hopkins in the playbook. And they are. But Hopkins is just such a fun receiver to watch in ways that the collection of WRs post-AJ aren't. Both AJ and Hopkins are the kind of receivers who do stuff in practice that make you go whoa a couple of times a practice. There's a reason why Hopkins is playing with the 1s--learn up faster, and because whoa that upside. Love watching him play.)

- Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels were practicing on the jugs machine today with shoe string catches. The machine was five yards away and neither Johnson or Daniels dropped a pass. The two veterans work constantly on their craft whenever they can.